Banned User

@Delaware Valley Tackle you think I could get away with using it until it's repaired, or could that do further damage?

Hey yall, noticed my Zillion sounding a bit louder so I figured I'd oil her up. Then I noticed this white washer looking thing was busted in the spool. Can I keep using it? Do I really gotta deal with a warranty that might cost me more in shipping and insurance than the part is worth, especially if I can ignore it.

@ol'crickety whatcha catchem on? I wish I had more water around me to explore, I only get to fish after the girls go down and there are bo places like that within a reasonable distance. I'm thinking of stopping by a petco with my finesse set up to feel like I'm catchin something

Very interesting, kinda makes me wonder if color matters at all at night.

Still black on black or do you throw some shad colors too?

Hey all, Any suggestions on home made wire bending forms or wire twisting tools that don't require already having a bunch of tools to make? I basically have a just regular basic home tools, a drill, hammer, wrench etc. Maybe I'm asking too much, maybe I should just buy a wire bending tool - but most don't accommodate .041 wire. I'm just trying to get some bullet weight wire baits made easier than the stupid jewelry tool I got, it helps, but it's a pain to get the whole wire form straight and to twist it around the hook.

@Zcoker so how would you feel about just using a longer shank hook? All else being equal a hook that is about the same length from jighead to bend of trailer hook?

@FryDog62 those jerks stol emy idea @Pat Brown also, I could downsize profile, while still using a hefty enough weight to zing it out there and using a bit larger hook and maintain that finessier presentation. Do others agree? Anybody contend? How would you like a slightly longer hook but isn't free swinging and snaggy like a trailer hook?

The bigger hook is already a but if a downsize - from having a trailer hook. Seems like it would fall somewhere in the middle of average hook and trailer hook. If any hook is easy to break it should not be put on any lute haha. Which is the point of using a longer hook, but technically it's all in relation to skirt and blade placement as well, a longer hook with shorter skirt would equate to a trailer hook catching those short strikes. This would also lead to less snags without a dangling free swinging trailer hook. This would be a 5/o larger than a typical straight shank spinnerbait hook, it seems the jig hooks for those are shorter by comparison in general. No trailer... I feel like it makes my buzzbaits run strange sometimes, or my craws I've been putting on'em. Either way I'm hoping my homemade long hook (can add length through placement on wire) will balance out this issue. I've hooked like 2 on a trailer hook all season, most times it's sideways on their face, I wonder if it's more in the way. I'm still thinking the long hook will make for good security.

Is there any reason I shouldn't just use a 5/o Hook to make a spinnerbait instead of using a smaller Hook with a trailer hook?

I had some knob creek on rocks the other night and then neat... rocks was better. Actually was able to differentiate nuances. The cinnamon and caramel got me curious here, but I think straight shots would alert my wife, the knot creek was over my cousins crib

Straight? Rocks? Coke? Cream soda? Sounds really good if you can actually notice the cinnamon and caramel. You actually go to Cheers? I'm from Boston and been there a number of times, I'm sure the ***** is better

Just regular sonar?

You rollin over the milfoil or in pockets?

The bass in the lake are primarily competing with an over population of white perch. Not great numbers of bass it seems, but healthy bass. I'm hoping to get up there one more time this fall, I'll try your black jig, but only at the 20ish docks I can kayak to. I'm thinking of throwing an umbrella rig too, never have but looks like fun. I should worm more at night too, a pond near me has huge pickerel I posted about, and I've heard good bass. Hopefully find some fatties this fall.

@A-Jay I only meant impossible for me to randomly search for smallies at night in a huge sparse cover sparse structure lake at night with no electronics only a paddle and an idea of a spot 1.5 miles away and another a little over a mile from there with no idea about the bait activities location or water temp. You made some things sound like critical knowledge, and I didn't have time to be on the water for hours and days to learn it. But it worked out, I caught another 5.5# LM at night on a buzzbait again. 3 >5# bass in one week is almost 50% of my lifetime 5># bass. I did waste a day going out to one spot to look for smallies, all i did was sweat and get a sunburn on my ankle (the rest of me is covered haha). Barren boulders... my guess is the water was still too warm. But thanks everybody for all your input, I will be going through it all again and taking notes. And @A-Jay I'll be going through the rest of the threads you shared. Much love y'all

@TnRiver46 that's awesome man, couple good nights in a row with a mix of bass. Seems likely the body of water makes a huge difference on what the two will do. Similar or different. @A-Jay made it sound like they're very different in general, and that it would be practically impossible for me to find smallies in my tech free yak at night unless by chance they happen to be holding to the one spot I think might have'em because rock. I didn't read the whole thing yet, but he convinced me it'd be a waste of time last night just to yak 1.36 miles to the boulders to check if smallies were still chillin there. Instead I beat the docks again and was reminded why angles are everything, another almost 5.5 pounder. 3 this week, that's 37.5% of my lifetime 5=> bass I'm gonna explain in the latest catch thread since it's not quite on ? ic here. But I will add that I do believe you about jigs coming into play, I seen some good craws kickin around here at night, I bet the smallies love'em. I'm gonna hate going back home to MA, today's my last day n Maine. Hopefully I can steal another weekend up here this fall. Thanks for all the input fellas, still feels like with all the people on here either they're holding out or smallies really are a mystery to crack ?

@A-Jay my man I'm looking forward to reading through that, and thanks for sharing it, but what's the TL:DR? I might go out tonight if you think I find findem with no electronics I will certainly go through it and take notes, but what's a few bullet points for right now to help me know what to do?

@WRB I'm still learning how to fish a jig, feel like I'm pulled in a hundred different directions with everyone's advice. Definitely smallies, and then these... Looks like largie to me. May be spots here, but the last gov survey was decades ago and doesn't mention either LM or spots. I'd love to find smallies here, but it's 1000+acres and I'm on a yak with no electronics. There's a couple spots with boulders Some stretches of docks Relatively clean bottom except for a small corner that gets shallow and slightly grassy

Nope, bare with no structure or abutting cover. Mostly flat slow incline dead leaves maybe a rock or two, it's a lake that people fish for lake trout and landlocked salmon, I heard there's an overpopulation of white perch.

Okay so what about Night time behavior, what's the difference? Smallie fishin at night looks like what?

Interesting takes on a dead slick night, do you feel it's tougher to fish like it is during dead slick days? Essentially I'm just at bad water right now, not a large number of largies, but they're big when you findem. Not a lot of cover, very clean water, barely any weeds except away from shore line and sparse. I caught one last night on a spinner off a dock, I shoulda just slept. That's the only cover here pretty much, docks. Couple spots with boulders that I think the smallies hang at, and a few spits with a tree or two in the water, too far to yak to.

Will they still hit top water? Big worm? Don't bother fishing and bank the night out from the wife?

It's great to change a kids life like that, that's awesome! I just need some clarification. It already spawned and was guarding a bed or it was pregnant and ready to spawn?

@you nice fish man! For the pickerel its best to not lip grip their bottom jaw, they don't have strong jaws like bass. Pickerel jaws are bony and fragile, instead clamp their upper lip, no harm done and easy to deal with. @thediscochefi respect the commitment to the big worm. I bring'em, but then don't throw'em. @ol'crickety I am an outlaw at heart! Go ahead, Call'em!